The UAE Annual Camel Trek Will Become A Marathon Next Year

Following the success of last month’s annual UAE Camel Trek, the emirate’s Heritage Centre has announced an annual Camel Trek Marathon, open to both expats and tourists.

The announcement by Dubai’s Crown Prince followed on after the successful staging of a camel race between the 13 expats who’d taken part in the annual Camel Trek. After a deal of training and the trek itself, expatriates from the UK, Japan, China, Romania, Armenia, the USA, Finland and Germany displayed their camel-riding skills in an exciting race.

March next year will see the Arabian Camel Festival including the Camel Trek Marathon and the sixth year of the Camel Trek itself. The marathon won’t just be open to expats who’ve taken part in the trek, with all expats, residents and visitors on tourist visas eligible to apply for the necessary training. After their training has been completed, a trial will take place in order to assess each expat applicant’s talents as regards camel riding, and the winners will receive generous prizes.

The hugely popular event is always massively oversubscribed, with applicants eager to learn to ride and race the traditionally-christened ‘ships of the desert’ as part of their understanding of the UAE’s fascinating history and heritage. It’s important amongst the descendants of the original desert tribes that their skills and former lifestyles aren’t forgotten in the rush to continue taking advantage of the discovery of oil, as the region’s rich customs and authentic Emirati values are still an important part of their 21st century identity.